Leptospira spp. in Small Mammals from Areas with Low and High Human Hantavirus Incidences in South-West Germany.

Introduction: Leptospirosis is caused by Leptospira spp. and is considered the most widespread zoonotic disease worldwide. It mimics nephropathia epidemica in humans, a disease mainly caused by Puumala hantavirus (PUUV).

The enzootic life-cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and tick-borne rickettsiae: an epidemiological study on wild-living small mammals and their ticks from Saxony, Germany.

Background: Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and rickettsiae of the spotted fever group are zoonotic tick-borne pathogens. While small mammals are confirmed reservoirs for certain Borrelia spp., little is known about the reservoirs for tick-borne rickettsiae.

Rickettsia spp. in small mammals and their parasitizing ectoparasites from Saxony, Germany.

Rickettsiae are emerging pathogens causing various types of spotted fever and typhus and are mostly transmitted by arthropods to humans and animals. In order to investigate the distribution of Rickettsiae of the spotted fever group (SFG) in small mammals as potential reservoirs and in fleas and ticks from these animals as potential vectors, a total of 91 small mammals (seven species) were captured and their ectoparasites were collected at seven sites around Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, in 2010 and 2011. Altogether, 91 skin samples, 125 fleas (five species) and 363 ticks (four species) were investigated for DNA of Rickettsia spp.